MUSINGS OF AN OLD SHOPKEEPER
Brian sat in the front of the boat while the old man lounged in
the back leaning on the tiller of the old 25 horse Johnson.
Brian always kept the paddle handy to push away from the
rocks the old man never seem to see, or as Brian suspected,
just ignored. The dents and dings on the sides of the 15 year
old Western Auto 'Fish Catcher' Flat bottom boat were testimony
to both.
"There it is, Pop." The sixteen year old sang out as they
approached the sandbar at the opening to Ritgers creek. The old man
didn't change position, but acknowledged Brian by cutting the
engine to an idle. He Slowly turned the tiller and the
flat bottom bounced once as it sliced its way over the sandbar.
They glided into the mouth of the creek and past a large shady
overhang. The beauty of this place always took the old mans
breath away.
It was a green, peaceful cathedral with no ties to the
outside world. The creek was only wide enough
to comfortably steer through and the tree's lining the bank
touched at the top to create a ceiling of natural beauty.
"Plop".
The reverence was interrupted by Brian casting into a
likely spot for a bass.
The morning slipped by, and the fish were not cooperating. They
had worked their way further into the creek and if anything,
it was even more serene.
Brian had turned around now, and was facing the back of the boat.
Between bites of a sandwich, he was describing how he was
going handle the next big bass.
A voice from behind Brian startled him. He dropped the
sandwich as he jerked his head to the right.
"I am really a princess", the very feminine voice was calm and
soothing. "Kiss me and I will change into a princess and
be your love slave forever".
It took several seconds before Brian could focus on the
large green frog perched on the shelf rock just
out of arm's length.
"Kiss me, you'll see".
The frog's sultry feminine voice continued. "I am truly a
beautiful princess and I will be your love slave forever".
"Steer to the rock Pop". Brian was obviously getting excited
as he grabbed the paddle and started to paddle in that direction.
In his excitement, Brian had not taken the current into account
and the boat slid past the table rock just out of arms reach.
The combination of the current and the paddling pushed the
stern of the boat right up next to the table rock.
The frog and the old man were nose to nose not 6 inches apart.
"Kiss me old man and I will change into a princess and be your
love slave forever", the frog whispered. This time the voice
was overtly sultry. The old man slowly reached out
and placed his open palm in front of the frog.
In an instant, the frog perched herself in his palm.
They stared at each other and after a few seconds, the old man
gently put the frog in the upper pocket of his overalls.
In the front of the boat, Brian was overcome with excitement.
Talking loudly now, "Give her to me Pop". Give her to me,
I'll kiss her".
It must have seemed an eternity to Brian, but the old man
smiled and gently patted the overall pocket.
"Son", he said, "at my age, I think a talking frog
might be a whole lot more fun".
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